PlantFiles: Smooth Hydrangea, Wild Hydrangea, Sevenbark
Hydrangea arborescens 'Dardom'

I have white dome in 2 areas of my yard. The "dome" has never turned white and remains green. The plants appear healthy and have remained at about 3 feet high. Have other growers had this issue? Maybe it should be marketed as "green dome."

Kelly Spiegel
zone 5, Indianapolis

In "Hydrangeas for American Gardens," by Michael A. Dirr (2004), it says that 'Dardom' is advertised as a new introduction of the species type with largely off-white fertile flowers surrounded and occasionally interspersed with white sterile sepals in clusters of 3 (4). Inflorescences are larger than those of the typical species and carried on strong stems. The leaves are more robust, larger, and thicker.

Notes from Dirr book: The above characteristics are more of less accurate; however, the selection is not from H. arborescens but either subspecies 'discolor' or 'radiata'. The leaves are white beneath (should be green). From a standpoint of adaptability, it will lack heat tolerance, particularly in zones 7-9. Also, the flowers, as shown in advertisements, are similar to many subsp. radiata. Dirr gives specific Identification characteristics in his book, "Hydrangeas for American Gardens."